Global trends in Cryptococcus and its interactions with the host immune system: a bibliometric analysis

ObjectivesThis manuscript undertakes a systematic examination of the research landscape concerning global Cryptococcus species and their dynamism with the host immune system spanning the past decade. It furnishes a detailed survey of leading knowledge institutions and critical focal points in this area, utilizing bibliometric analysis.MethodsVOSviewer and CiteSpace software platforms were employed to systematically analyze and graphically depict the relevant literature indexed in the WoSCC database over the preceding ten years.ResultsIn the interval between October 1, 2013, and October 1, 2023, a corpus of 795 publications was amassed. The primary research institutions involved in this study include Duke University, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Sydney. The leading trio of nations, in terms of publication volume, comprises the United States, China, and Brazil. Among the most prolific authors are Casadevall, Arturo; Wormley, Floyd L., Jr.; and Olszewski, Michal A., with the most highly cited author being Perfect, Jr. The most esteemed journal is Mbio, while Infection and Immunity commands the highest citation frequency, and the Journal of Clinical Microbiology boasts the most significant impact factor. Present research foci encompass the intricate interactions between Cryptococcus pathogenesis and host immunity, alongside immune mechanisms, complications, and immunotherapies.ConclusionThis represents the first exhaustive scholarly review and bibliometric scrutiny of the evolving landscapes in Cryptococcus research and its interactions with the host immune system. The analyses delineated herein provide insights into prevailing research foci and trajectories, thus furnishing critical directions for subsequent inquiries in this domain

A solar wind-derived water reservoir on the Moon hosted by impact glass beads

The past two decades of lunar exploration have seen the detection of substantial quantities of water on the Moon’s surface. It has been proposed that a hydrated layer exists at depth in lunar soils, buffering a water cycle on the Moon globally. However, a reservoir has yet to be identified for this hydrated layer. Here we report the abundance, hydrogen isotope composition and core-to-rim variations of water measured in impact glass beads extracted from lunar soils returned by the Chang’e-5 mission. The impact glass beads preserve hydration signatures and display water abundance profiles consistent with the inward diffusion of solar wind-derived water. Diffusion modelling estimates diffusion timescales of less than 15 years at a temperature of 360 K. Such short diffusion timescales suggest an efficient water recharge mechanism that could sustain the lunar surface water cycle. We estimate that the amount of water hosted by impact glass beads in lunar soils may reach up to 2.7 × 1014 kg. Our direct measurements of this surface reservoir of lunar water show that impact glass beads can store substantial quantities of solar wind-derived water on the Moon and suggest that impact glass may be water reservoirs on other airless bodies

A DFT Study for Catalytic Deoxygenation of Methyl Butyrate on a Lewis Acid Site of ZSM-5 Zeolite

The catalytic deoxygenation mechanism of fatty acid esters on a Lewis acid site of ZSM-5 zeolite was elucidated via density functional theory (DFT) by using a methyl butyrate (MB) as the model compound for fatty acid esters. The configurations of the initial reactant, transition states, and products together with the activation barrier of each elementary reaction were determined. The activation barrier of different initial cracking reactions decreases in the order of α-C–C > β-C–C > α-C–O > β-C–O. The best reaction path for catalytic deoxygenation of methyl butyrate over Lewis acid site is CH3CH2CH2C(OCH3)=O⋯Lewis → CH3CH2⋯Lewis⋯C(=CH2)OCH3 → CH2=CH2 + CH3COOCH3 + Lewis. The oxygen of methyl butyrate is mainly removed as CO2, methyl acetate, formaldehyde, and butyraldehyde, while ethylene, propylene, and butane are the main hydrocarbon products. In addition, the group generated by cracking of methyl butyrate form a bond with the Lewis acid site, promoting the transformation between a Lewis acid and a Brønsted acid. The corresponding intermediates have a high single point energy, but the poor stability leads to further deoxygenation and cracking reactions. This work provides a theoretical basis for the modification in the number of Brønsted acid and Lewis acid sites in the ZSM-5 zeolite

Does Atrial Fibrillation Increase the Risk of New Onset Myocardial Infarction?

Background Atrial fibrillation is the most obvious arrhythmia in medical practice. Atrial fibrillation has been listed as one of the eight fastest-growing causes of death since 1990. Epidemiological investigation shows that the highest incidence of atrial fibrillation is 9% in people over 65 years old and 17% in people over 80 years old; more than 60% of patients with hypertension will develop atrial fibrillation after the age of 60. Atrial fibrillation increases the risk of ischemic stroke, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, cognitive impairment and dementia, but it is unclear whether it increases the risk of new onset myocardial infarction. Objective To investigate whether atrial fibrillation increases the risk of new onset myocardial infarction. Methods From June 2006 to October 2007, 96 750 employees of Kailuan Group in Tangshan, Hebei Province (Kailuan population) were selected for the study, including 458 patients with atrial fibrillation (atrial fibrillation group) and 96 292 patients without atrial fibrillation (non atrial fibrillation group) . The general information of patients was recorded, including age, gender, personal history (smoking history, drinking history) , past medical history (hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, dyslipidemia) , anthropometric parameters (weight, height, blood pressure, etc.) . Total cholesterol (TC) , triglyceride (TG) , high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) , low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and fasting blood glucose (FPG) were collected. The patients were followed up every 2 years, respectively, that was from 2008 to 2009, 2010 to 2011, 2012 to 2013, 2014 to 2015, and 2016 to 2017. The median follow-up was 10 years, and the end point was new onset myocardial infarction. Multivariate Cox regression model was used to analyze the effect of atrial fibrillation on new onset myocardial infarction. Results (1) There were significant differences in age, body mass index (BMI) , systolic blood pressure (SBP) , LDL-C, FPG, diabetes, smoking, drinking and new onset myocardial infarction between atrial fibrillation group and non atrial fibrillation group (P<0.05) . (2) Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that atrial fibrillation increased the risk of new onset myocardial infarction compared with non atrial fibrillation〔RR=1.841, 95%CI (1.118, 2.869) , P<0.05〕. After adjusting for age and gender (male) , atrial fibrillation increased the risk of new onset myocardial infarction compared with non atrial fibrillation〔RR=1.635, 95%CI (1.049, 2.547) , P<0.05〕, after further adjustment for BMI, SBP, LDL-C, FPG, smoking and drinking, atrial fibrillation increased the risk of new onset myocardial infarction compared with non atrial fibrillation〔RR=1.381, 95%CI (1.087, 1.573) , P<0.05〕; drinking was the protective factor of new onset myocardial infarction 〔RR=0.664, 95%CI (0.572, 0.770) , P<0.05〕. Conclusion Atrial fibrillation is an independent risk factor of new onset myocardial infarction

CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Adenine Base Editing in Rice Genome

SUMMARY: Precise base editing is highly desired in plant functional genomic research and crop molecular breeding. In this study, we constructed a rice-codon optimized adenine base editor (ABE)-nCas9 tool that induced targeted A·T to G·C point mutation of a key single nucleotide polymorphism site in an important agricultural gene. Combined with the modified single-guide RNA variant, our plant ABE tool can efficiently achieve adenine base editing in the rice genome

Densely sampled phylogenetic analyses of the Lesser Short-toed Lark (Alaudala rufescens) - Sand Lark (A. raytal) species complex (Aves, Passeriformes) reveal cryptic diversity

The taxonomy of the Lesser/Asian Short-toed Lark Alaudala rufescens-cheleensis complex has been debated for decades, mainly because of minor morphological differentiation among the taxa within the complex, and different interpretations of the geographical pattern of morphological characters among different authors. In addition, there have been few studies based on non-morphological traits. It has recently been suggested based on a molecular study of the lark family Alaudidae that the Sand Lark A. raytal is nested within this complex. We here analysed mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b) from 130 individuals across the range of this complex (hereafter called Alaudala rufescens-raytal complex), representing all except two of the 18 currently recognized subspecies. We also analysed 11 nuclear markers from a subsample of these individuals, representing all of the clades found in the cyt b tree. Five primary clades were recovered, which confirmed that A. raytal is nested within this complex. Divergence time estimates among these five clades ranged from 1.76 to 3.16 million years (my; 95% highest posterior density [HPD] 1.0-4.51 my) or 1.99-2.53 my (95% HPD 0.96-4.3 my) in different analyses. Only four of the currently recognized subspecies were recovered as monophyletic in the cyt b tree. Our results call for a taxonomic revision, and we tentatively suggest that at least four species should be recognized, although we stress the need for an approach integrating molecular, morphological and other data that are not yet available